Hitting out: One-Day play limited

Have you ever wondered why the West Indies' recent record in One-Day Internationals has been modest to say the least?

The plain truth is that not enough limited-overs cricket is played at regional level and to some extent, domestic level.

It's true that the regional side performed commendably in this year's home triangular series that also involved Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

But what came before and after was nothing to shout about.

Around this time last year, the West Indies achieved only four wins in 12 matches on trips to Singapore, Sharjah, Bangladesh and Toronto. There was not a single victory in five matches against New Zealand over the Christmas period and there was just one in six matches in the July tri-nation tournament, in which they played against England and Zimbabwe.

It was not only because the West Indies lost, but the manner and margins of losses. The defeats were heavy and the quality of cricket was uninspiring.

It should come as no surprise, because those who represent us at international level clearly do not get enough experience at the regional level in the shortened version of the game.

The Red Stripe Bowl, the premier limited-overs competition, has been expanded this year to feature ten teams. Yet each team will play a maximum of only six matches and a minimum of four.

Surely those youngsters we are depending on to revive West Indies' cricket will not adequately develop skills in One-Day cricket if they are limited to a handful of matches in less than two weeks.

What is unbelievable is that Azeemul Haniff, Marlon Samuels, Colin Stuart and Kerry Jeremy have not played a single regional One-Day match and yet they will leave the Caribbean on Tuesday with the West Indies team for the Mini World Cup in Kenya.

One wonders if there are other countries where players have appeared in an international limited-overs match before playing a regional game.

Why is there such a shortage of limited-overs cricket in the Caribbean?

From 1976 to 1994, regional One-Day matches were squeezed in between four-day matches and teams played a maximum of three matches a year.

When the tournament was correctly shifted to another time of the year, it was expanded, at some stage, to include return matches.

For whatever reason, it has reverted to just one match against the four zonal opponents before the semifinal and final.

Is lack of money the problem?

It might be fair to assume that our One-Day tournaments might be so brief because they have to be fitted in somewhere along the way to ensure there is no clash with international cricket engagements.

We are one of the few Test-playing nations with a climate that will allow us to play cricket any time during the year. Yet, we find ourselves having to squeeze in a tournament to accommodate others.

What happens at regional level also extends down to club level.

Members of the Barbados team will go to the Red Stripe Bowl next month having only played two domestic One-Day matches this season.

Need I say more?